Florida 2018: Barrier Island Sanctuary

Recently I had the grand opportunity of visiting my grandparents in Florida over spring break!! It was lots of fun to spend some more quality time with them, and over the next few weeks I'll share some photos from my trip.

It was a long day of travel from my graduate school up in Michigan. But the farther south I flew, the better the weather became! And when we landed, the sun was shining and the palm trees were waving in the slight breeze! Ahhh....Florida ;)

Well, my grandparents picked me up from the airport and we barreled down A1A. It's a beautiful, scenic highway with palm trees and homes. The Atlantic Ocean is on one side and the Indian River on the other. Pelicans fly overhead. Per what I've heard, the Indian River is one of the most biodiverse areas in the nation (yay for biologist me!). En route to my grandparents' home, we stopped at the Barrier Island Sanctuary. It is the visitor center for Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge. My family, grandparents, and I visited this place five years ago (check out my video here). So it was a happy surprise when I learned that my grandparents would be taking me here again. I enjoyed a refresher lesson all about the area's biology, and turtles in particular (the NWR is the site of major turtle nesting). There is a really nice boardwalk behind the center, as well as a stretch of beach. I had lots of fun taking pictures, and here are some for your enjoyment! :)